SkyFall
by Moonwa1ker
Summary: It's a normal day for Paris's two heroes when a desperate cry rings through the air... and their luck runs out. Rated T. Blood/Gore, Violence, Trauma, many tears. ONE-SHOT ONLY!


It's a stormy day in Paris, grey clouding the sky and raindrops falling like tears on the earth. As Ladybug perches atop the Eiffel Tower, Chat Noir comes to meet her due to an akuma alert ringing throughout the city. "Evening, My Lady," Chat says as he lands beside her. "You look beautiful, as always. So, what are we up against this time?"

"An akuma named 'The Huntress'. She seems fairly standard, her powers are those of some kind of predator as far as I can tell. Oh, and be careful, she's set up traps all around the city," Ladybug responds.

"Seems easy enough. Hey, after we catch her, wanna grab a bite to eat?" Chat offers, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Not a chance, Kitty," Ladybug says as she flicks his bell teasingly. With that, she leaps ahead, swinging from roof to roof, presumably in pursuit of wherever The Huntress is. Chat followers her without hesitation, easily catching up to her, yet slowing to keep pace with her. Suddenly, he spots a flash of movement from the corner. Ears perking in interest, he motions for Ladybug to stop. She looks confused, but swings around and lands next to him. "What is i-"

Chat Noir silences her by putting a finger to lips. He's so intent on finding whatever he saw, he doesn't notice the pretty blush that overcomes her face before she bats his hand away. His ears swivel around, tail flicking silently, as he focuses. Suddenly, a loud _**BANG**_ sounds in the distance, disturbing the otherwise peaceful night. "That sounded like one of her traps!" Ladybug says in alarm.

Immediately, both heroes bolt in the direction the sound came from, but quickly stop dead in their tracks as they see it's source. There is a small child in the middle of an alleyway, tears streaming down his face. His leg is caught in a monsterous bear trap, which is tearing through flesh and fabric. The boy is ghostly pale, and a dark pool is forming around him. "No, no no no no…" Ladybug whispers, staring in horror at the poor child.

"P-please…" he coughs out. "C-can you h-help m-me?"

Snapping out of her shock-induced trance, Ladybug hesitantly moves forward. "O-of course," she says, her voice shaking slightly. "It's what we do."

Chat comes up behind her, and leans down to examine the trap. "It got you good, huh?" he says.

The child gives a shaky nod. "Don't worry, we'll get you out quickly. I _paw_mise," Chat says, holding his hand to his heart.

Seeing this, the little boy offers a weak smile. "P-please, h-hurry."

Chat nods, before reaching down to the trap. "I'm going to try to pull it off," he says. "It's going to hurt, I'm not going to lie. But, I need you to be brave. Can you do that?"

"I-I will! I-I'll b-be brave, just l-like y-you."

Chat gives a small smile, before he turns back to the trap, his face serious. "Ladybug, I'm going to need you to call up your lucky charm - we'll need something to stop the bleeding," Chat says.

She gives a firm nod, before tossing her yoyo in the air and calling, "Lucky Charm!"

A black-and-red medical kit lands in her hands, and Ladybug grimaces. Wiping the rain from his eyes, Chat Noir braces himself before pulling on the bear trap with all his strength. It opens slightly, before shutting again with a sickening _snap!_ The boy to cries out in pain, squeezing his eyes closed. "I'm so sorry!" Chat says, quickly pulling his hands back. Turning to Ladybug, he says, "Looks like pure force won't work, not unless that boy wants to lose his leg. I'm going to have to use cataclysm on it."

"Isn't that too risky? I already used my lucky charm, so we're down one power. What if the akuma comes?" Ladybug asks.

"That's a risk we'll have to take. I'm not leaving this kid here to bleed out on the street," Chat says with fierce determination.

Ladybug shakes her head, but stands back anyway to let him work. She just can't shake the feeling something is off… something is wrong… Feeling something prickling on the back of her neck, she turns around, only to find nothing. Peering into the shadows, Ladybug could swear she sees the glint of-

"Cataclysm!"

Chat Noir's call snaps her attention back to the current situation. _Focus_, she thinks. _You have to be ready, or we could… we could lose this kid… _

Chat gently places his hand on the trap, and it dissolves instantly. As the boy's legs give out, Chat swoops in and catches him. "Ladybug, get over here!" he calls urgently. "He's losing a lot of blood, and fast too."

Ladybug is by his side in an instant, and she quickly opens her medkit and pulls out some bandage and gauze. Holding the bandage in her teeth, she applies gauze to the wound before wrapping it heavily with some white bandage. She pales as they start turning red. "We have to deal with this akuma, and quickly!" she says to Chat. "This boy is counting on us."

As the two heroes finish up with helping the boy, a menacing growl rings out through the air. The boys already pale face turns ashen as he realizes what it means. "P-please! D-don't l-let them g-get me!" he begs, doing his best to pull himself to the nearest wall for support.

"We won't," Chat promises.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that," a cold voice says before a lithe figure steps out from the shadows. Ladybug's hair stands on end as she realises that what she had seen was the eyes of this predator, gleaming hungrily as they looked at their prey.

"Stay back!" she calls, yoyo already swinging into a defensive shield.

"Now-now, little lady," the akuma taunts. "I would be careful if I were you, you only have a few minutes left before your time is up."

_Beep! Beep!_

The echoing sound confirms what the akuma had just said. "All the more reason to beat you!" Ladybug challenges. The akuma doesn't respond, instead turning to circle the trio huddled in the middle of the small alley. The Huntress is dressed in the pelts of various animals, and chains rattle from her shoulders. A large axe is hung on her back, while various types of traps are hung from a belt around her waist. As she stalks around, the eerie clank of claws on concrete rings through the air.

Without warning, she suddenly springs forward, aiming right at Ladybug. The collision sends Ladybug flying backwards, and she slumps down, unconscious, as she hits the wall behind her. "NO!"

Chat is dumbstruck, staring at his Lady, watching as something dribbles down from her face. Blood. A desperate scream pulls his attention back to the akuma as she lunges mercilessly for the boy. _I-I'll be brave, just like you! _The boys voice rings through Chat's head as time seems to slow down. _Please! Don't let them get me! _His feet are pounding on the ground, racing to the boy on their own accord, desperate to get between him and the danger. _I trusted you… _Chat can see the boy, lying on the ground, his blood splattered around him. _I thought you were a hero._

_**BAM!**_

"I-I promised… s-she w-wouldn't… hurt you…" Chat's legs give out, and he collapses on the ground, blood pooling around him.

"Huh. Thought you would be harder to kill," Huntress comments as she walks over, wrenching her axe from Chat's body. The boy watches in horror as his hero bleeds out in front of him, tears welling in his eyes. "T-tell… tell Ladybug…" the boy leans in closer, trying to hear the hero's final words. "Tell her, I l-loved her…"

"Alright, enough of this sappy crap."

And with that, the Huntress brings her axe down on Chat's head.

"NOOOOOOOO!" the boy cries. "N-no!" He dissolves into tears, and the akuma simply snarls at this. "Oh, shut up. He was useless anyway."

"Ch-chat?"

Ladybug's hesitant voice causes the akuma to whip around their head. "Ch-chat?!" she calls again, more panicked.

Her eyes widen in shock as she sees the blood pooling around her partner. "W-what did you do?!" she cries, fire raging in her gaze as she turns to the akuma. "_What did you do?!_"

"I put him down."

Ladybug stumbles, trying to stand upright. The Huntress simply laughs. "What are you going to do, little bug? You are _nothing _without your partner. You are useless."

Ladybug visibly flinches at the words, but presses on. "Oh, I see. You're trying to get to him? Aren't you?"

She ignores the taunts, for her whole world is focused on Chat Noir. He _is _her whole world, and right now, it's crashing down. As she pushes past the akuma, she trips, falling forward. This just causes the akuma to laugh even more. Yet, still, she gets up and pushes on. "Alright, enough of this. It's time to put you out of your misery."

A sharp sting races up Ladybug's spine, causing her to fall to her knees. Gritting her teeth, she stands up once more, pushing through the pain. _I-I must… get… to Chat… _"Hmm. You're a fighter. I respect that. But still, you should really just learn to _stay down._"

Another lash causes her to fall. Wiping the tears and sleet from her eyes, Ladybug struggles to stand once more. When she can't, she just crawls forward, using her arms to drag the rest of her body. "C-chat," she whispers as she finally reaches him. "Y-you stupid cat! W-why d-did you have to g-go being the hero?" Ladybug reaches down, cradling him in her arms. "W-why? P-please! C-come back to me! I-I can't do this without you!"

"Alright, enough is enough."

A shiver goes up her spine as she turns her head to find the Huntress above her. Squinting through the rain, she sees the sharp glint of a bloodied axe raised above the head of the akuma. "It's over, _Ladybug_."

As the axe comes crashing down towards her, Ladybug turns her head. She looks down at her beloved partner, taking in his every feature, before closing her eyes and embracing what is to come. _I'm so sorry, Chat, _she thinks as she feels pain and exhaustion overcome her. _I'm sorry I let you down. _As the darkness closes in, as her body slumps to the ground, all she can think is, _I'll see you soon, my love… _


End file.
